The motel is considered vacant but fire officials say there are a lot of unhoused individuals that stay there.
SAN ANTONIO — A vacant northeast-side motel that caught on fire Thursday night was engulfed in flames once again Friday morning, marking the third day in a row that firefighters have responded to fire at the property.
The fire at the former Econo Lodge along the I-35 access road near Whirlwind Drive, reignited just after 4 a.m. This comes after firefighter arrived to heavy flames at the same location around 9 p.m. Thursday.
When the call came in Thursday night, firefighters knew exactly where to go because officials said they were “very familiar” with the property, having responded to a dumpster fire at the shuttered business less than 24 hours before.
The first firefighters to arrive found flames shooting from at least three units near the back of the sprawling compound. They were able to rapidly contain the blaze and a second alarm was called in to deal with complications, according to SAFD.
“The potential for that fire to spread here was great. It’s quite a large, complex, if you will, here with a common attic space,” said Joe Arrington, SAFD Public Information Officer.
Officials said an unstable balcony made the fight more difficult. Because there were people on site, crews did a careful job of making sure to check all the rooms for possible victims.
“They made an aggressive interior attack. We did have some compromise to the balcony area, so they had to be extremely careful working upstairs on that area,” said Arrington.
Firefighters did a careful job of making sure to check all the rooms for possible victims. The motel is considered vacant but fire officials say there are a lot of unhoused individuals that stay there.
“We’re going to try to work with the property owners to make sure they can get out here and secure the premises a little bit better to keep folks out of here,” Arrington said.
SAFD said the blaze was extinguished within 30 minutes this morning and no injuries were reported.
The cause of both fires are still under investigation, officials said.